


The Exposed Photographer's Trip

by Toyu



Series: Their Phantom Moments [3]
Category: Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Daddy!Scythe, Nudity, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-16
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-27 03:02:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6266935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toyu/pseuds/Toyu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Eren/Ein's unabashed nude habit is put under scrutiny, and somehow the photographer gets involved and blamed for most of the trouble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Targeting Photographer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ein attempts to use the photographer in rebellion against her father.

            The room that she is in is the same as all the previous photograph rooms, a wall length mirror taking up the wall opposite the doorway, a fake setting – a beach this time – takes up another wall, and a small changing screen with a vanity table and trash can takes up a corner of the leftover wall space. The only other furniture is the two fake potted ferns that stand guard near the doorway, and a simple wooden bench in the unoccupied corner of the wall that shares the vanity table and mirror. The grey-eyed teen is taking off her grey shoes and white socks while sitting on the bench which she had previously pushed to the center of the mirror when the photographer enters, a young brown haired Japanese man in his mid or late teens. “Ein” stares at his brown eyes, which are taking in every aspect of the photograph room other than what he came to photograph. Her gun-smoke grey eyes travel down his worried face and black short-sleeved T-shirt to his white stick-on nametag, which reads: Reiji Azuma in black marker. She puts a lock of her cropped warm-grey hair back behind her ear and smirks as the memories of all the previous personal photographers who were fired for “indecent photographing” enter her mind. Ein then pouts as the reason for the purposefully taken photographs surfaces. “Really father… just because you took me in as a kid does not mean you rule every aspect of my life.”

            “Um… is something wrong, miss Ein?” the photographer half-heartedly says with a slight frown on his face as he approaches her, his eyes finally on her.

            She shakes her head as she stands up from the bench with a small “Mmm, nothing is wrong Mr. Photographer. And please, call me Eren.” It was merely a step into getting the photographer to take ‘those’ photos, having him call her by her non-star name.

            The photographer observes her through the glass of the wall-length mirror as she passes him, walking towards then behind the screen. Silence and the rustle of cloth being removed is all that is heard in the room, the photographer testing the zoom of the camera on the beach scenery. Around fifteen seconds later, Eren walks out from behind the curtain, wearing nothing more than the taken-off clothes slung over her left shoulder, her two-piece frilly pink and green swimsuit trailing between the fingers of her right hand. The photographer is sitting on the bench when he looks up from the camera and sees Ein. “Ah…” says the non-blushing photographer as he looks away from her towards the door, the camera falling to the full extent of the fabric strap that is hanging from his neck. Eren moves forward, blocking his line of sight and escape from the room without passing her. _Now he will take that photograph._ She thinks to herself as she turns towards the photographer hands on her hips in mild-annoyance at her father and the photographer for what he would surely do in the next few seconds.

            She waits for ten minutes, the room silent other than the calm breathing of its two occupants as she watches him stare up at the ceiling. “Well? Are you not going to take my photograph, Mr. Azuma, or were you hired for mere sport?” She asks him, the boredom and deafening silence driving her to speak. The sixteen-year-old photographer’s head and eyes lower from his intense study of the ceiling but stop until his eyes are looking dead into her own.

            “I’ll take your photograph, but only after you are inside of the bathing suit.” He states with a deadpan stare.

            She gives him a dead stare in return before dropping both clothes and bathing suit to the tiled floor, her hands then traveling back up her unscarred body to her boobs. _If the normal approach does not work, than I need to try the sexual approach._ Eren thinks, knowing fully well that her father and security were watching for any funny stuff that would get the photographer arrested and fired in the same moment. “Are you not aroused by this?” She asks him, believing that for sure now she will get a reaction from him that will prove that this photographer is like all the rest of the males Eren has encountered before, controlling, overprotective, over affectionate annoyances that she has no need for. The photographer shakes his brown mess of hair from side to side in the universal sign of no. “Hmm…. Then you are into reading porn magazines, watching old wrinkled women take showers, or into babies waving their hands and feet in your face?” For she had met such men with such habits beforehand in similar rooms in the same situation, a photographer and his target.


	2. Targeting Photographer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Past-bathroom-related trauma is revealed and similarities between their pasts are noted by Eren.

            “It’s my sister.” Reiji admits with a haunting gaze in his eyes as unseen memories play out before them.

            “Ah-ha!” Eren exclaims clasping her hands together. “So you’re the kind of guy who’s into stalking his naked younger sister into the shower!”

            The photographer closes his eyes and ruefully shakes his head once more. “It’s the other way around.” Reiji mutters. “My seventeen year old sister does not know the meaning of bathroom privacy.” Eren blinks in surprise, memories of her own bathroom problems with her father surfacing to her mind. “She often walks in on me taking a shower, and would see me naked….then has the indecency to pull back the glass door of the shower and join me...”

            Eren smiles a harsh smile at the woeful photographer as she says “Sounds like your sister and my father have something in common, Mr. Reiji Azuma.” The memory that occurred less than a week ago plays out in her head as she picks up the lower part of the bathing suit, just as it does each night since she outgrew needing help with bathing all those years ago.

_Her father, a ruthless man in business with the nickname of Scythe Master approaches her in the bathtub being used as a shower, a bottle of shampoo in his left hand and a bar of soap cradled in the crock of that same arm with a wet wash cloth in his right hand. “Time for your bath time, my Ein, my beautiful child.” He says as he pulls back the shower curtain. Eren glares at him, her hands rinsing out the recently placed conditioner in her hair. “Father, I can do this on my own, I am no longer a child.” She spits out while allowing the shower to rinse off the conditioner in her bangs. “Ah, but you will always be a child to me, my rising star, Ein”. He mummers as he rubs the soap and cloth together, making it sudsy with bubbly foam._

            She releases the bottom with a snap that echoes in the room as she pick up the top part of the bathing suit, her body moving by memory-driven routine of putting on bathing suits and clothes for most of her life. No thanks to her father that is…

_There is no movement from Eren as her hands clench into fists as her over-loving father rubs her back with the cloth, while humming Sesame Street’s rubber ducky song. Sycthe then sits on the edge of the tub as he places the soap down and then the bottle of shampoo. He then lifts Eren’s left arm and beings to lather her sides; however when he reaches her hairless armpit with the cloth Eren snatches it from him. She then begins ruthlessly rubbing her already-cleaned armpit, the cloth swiftly traveling all across her body where she does not want her father’s hands to be: over the shoulder, the neck area, her belly button, her hairless legs, across every inch of her body it goes. Scythe continues to hum as he watches her with love-filled eyes, only seeing a child and not a maturing teenager. He then speaks “I’ll let you get out on your own, my pretty princess.” He stands up, leaving Eren alone in the steam-filled bathroom._

            Eren blinks once and the week-old memory after her eighteenth birthday vanishes from her mind.


	3. Photographer's Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reiji talks with Scythe and Eren truly smiles.

             “How do I look?” Eren asks Reiji, praying that he will say something that will get him in trouble for being heard over the wiretaps in the plants, desk and behind the mirror. Reiji looks up and down at her, and a genuine smile comes over his face.

            “You look…” _yes, he is struggling to find the right word…_ Eren thinks with a smile on her face. “…Cute.” Reiji finishes as Eren pouts at him. The camera goes up and the echo of the shutter can be heard as the first of the five required photographs for meeting the part-time job requirement is taken. “Why don’t you go over to the sand and sift some of it through your fingers?” Reiji suggests, before he stands up from the bench and moves to the middle of the room. Eren shrugs at him before walking over to the makeshift beach and crouching down in the sand. Her right hand’s index finger is drawing small circles in the sand as a second photograph is taken, the sand falling from her left hand as she stares at the circles. For the third photo, the bench is dragged over to the beach and Eren leans against the back of it, her head looking over her right shoulder towards the camera. Reiji smiles again at her before saying “For the fifth photo why don’t we do a selfie, with both of us?” The swimsuit-wearing girl walks over to the mirror, and Reiji walks parallel to her and takes another photograph while leaning against the mirror.

             “Sure, but I get to press the button.” She replies with a pensive frown on her face.

            He stands to her left with their backs to the beach, camera in front and facing both of them. Reiji is holding the right side of the camera in his left hand, while she holds the left side of the camera in her right hand above the two of them. Reiji tells her, “Press the but-” her finger descends upon the button before he can finish the word. “ton whenever….” The resulting picture is comical, him with a open mouth and a happy expression on his face, and her with a mischievous smirk.

            “Splendid work, Mr. Azuma.” Is spoken by the voice of an older male over the loudspeaker. _My father_ Eren mouths to Reiji. “I’ll see you in the lobby downstairs, you are hired full time for now.” The boy blinks in shock at being hired full time for a part-time job that he has zero experience in before swiftly bowing down and proclaiming with gratitude

            “Thank you very much Mr… Sir!” A chuckle could be heard before the CEO of the magazine and photographing company that Eren is forced to work for states “Please, call me Scythe Master.” With a loud click, the intercom is turned off. Eren smiles a genuine smile of her own, knowing that she will see more of this, respectful, different young man in the near future.


	4. Casing the Kidnapper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A kidnapping occurs with the two Phantoms that involves swat teams, military vehicles, news media, and police.

            The next day she meets him in the garage in front of a red Ferrari, wearing a simple yellow T-shirt with short sleeves and a folded-pattern navy blue skirt. “Today you drive me in secret to look for a place to take the cover-photo for next month’s magazine.” Eren half-lies, knowing fully well that such a thing is unneeded as the cover for the magazine has already been chosen. Reiji sheepishly rubs the back of his head as Eren opens the driver’s door and motions to it, he gets in without a word. “Are you not going to ask me anything?” Eren questions, her grey eyes glancing at Reiji as she gets inside the passenger seat.

            “Yeah… does your father approve of this?” Reiji replies as his hands flex and drum the round steering wheel.

            “Yes….” Eren whispers softly, “Yes he does.”

            Reiji wonders exactly what kind of job he signed up for as he is driving down the road with every manner of law enforcement ranging from police to swat helicopters bearing down on him from behind. “I thought you said that your father approved of this!” he cries as he turns sharply down another dirt road, Eren laughing from the passenger seat next to him.

            “What he does not know won’t hurt him.” She replies with another laugh.

            “Yes, but it will hurt us!” Reiji exclaims as the flashing of multiple sirens from up ahead could be seen in the daylight. “Kami-sama ara…” Reiji breaths as he stares at the sea of police, swat cars, and more helicopters waiting a few miles in the distance. _‘Oh dear god…’_ Eren translates to herself with a frown. _If he is already chickening… I believe it’s time for this joy ride to be over…oh well…_ with a small frown she presses a button hidden under the airbag compartment.

            The driver’s seat then releases the buckle to Reiji’s seat belt, and the back part of the seat suddenly falls back thereby making Reiji fall into the rear of the car. “Honestly, if a girl wants to have fun she has to do it herself without a knight…crisps…” Eren mutters to herself as she unbuckles her own seat belt and gets into the self-correcting driver’s seat.

            “Eren what are you…” Reiji says in confusion from the floor of the back seat. Eren interrupts him with a question of her own.

            “Do you see a rope on the seat back there?” Reiji looks and sees a rope in the shape of a noose lying coiled on the seat.

            Slowly Reiji states “Yeah…” Eren nods to herself _this will work_ …

            “Place both of your hands in the circle; grab the loose end with your teeth, and pull.” She instructs him while her eyes are on the police and military personal up ahead along with the various news vans that are just pulling up from the side. _The media is already having a hay-day with me finally having a photographer that has lasted more than the interview-test…_ Eren knows her father won’t be please – from the back, Reiji yelps with surprise as the noose tightens around his hands, making him appears as if he were the one being kidnapped – but he always forgives her and always will... depending on the results of this act of stardom teenage rebellion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any grammatical errors or mistakes found will be corrected as soon as possible when I am notified of them in the comment section below.


	5. My Phantom Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren pulls off some acting skills and reflects on her life so far.

            Swiftly Eren turns the wheel while simultaneously slamming her right foot down on the breaks. A giant cloud of dust sprays upward as Eren plans her next move for the media. The blare of loudspeakers screeches out across the crowd of vehicles and people, and Eren knows exactly what it’s about to proclaim. “Reiji Azuma, You Are Under Arrest For Kidnapping Ein, The Daughter of INFERNO MAGAZINE C.E.O. Scythe Master!” _Right on the dot._ She thinks to herself. Already the media were throwing insults, some of which did not even belong in the current situation. “Kidnapper!” “Rapist Scumbag!’ “Murdering Asswipe!” “Terrorist!” the crowd roared, fueled by anger and mob mentality. _Not to mention most of them are most likely here on my father’s orders…_

            Sure enough, Eren spots more than thirty of her father’s company vehicles in her surroundings. Eren opens the car door and the loudspeaker’s shriek, “He is getting out! He is…” then blessed silence reigns as Eren fully steps out of the car before closing the door. She stares out across the crowd of media and gathered force, knowing deep in her heart that those that were gathered did not see her, Eren, but only saw Ein, a teenage star in distress. _Just like him_ , _my father._ Even so Eren forces a smile and walks forward towards the nearest dumbstruck reporter with a bullhorn and swipes it. Knowing she only has a few seconds to clear Reiji’s name before they descend upon her like vampires upon a blood bank she activates the bullhorn. With practiced calm she speaks into it, her voice ringing across the masses.

            “Reiji Azuma is not a kidnapper; I’m the one who kidnapped him!”  The media’s reaction is yet another uproar, and Eren is swallowed up by the crowd as she is escorted and jostled towards the white helicopter with the blood-red words painted across the door and side, “INFERNO MAG.” In which her father awaits.

 _Like a puppet_ _I dance across the stage for my fatherly master, for I alone am unable to control my life in this situation._ She had tried various times to escape in the past, all of which had failed due to her father’s paranoia of her missing from his life just like his previous wife had. From hiring mafia and yakuza to threaten all steady employee’s to not kidnap Ein or allow her to leave without permission from her father, to wiretapping and tracing every vehicle within a fifty block radius of their home and workplace. _Like a tool.. I live…_ a voice faintly echoes in the back of her mind.

 _Someday,_ Eren thinks to herself as the crowd and their chants of her stage-name “ _EIN”_ swallow her up, _I will break free, free of this name, of this life._ Briefly she glances back in the direction the car is, _and he, will help me do so. This much I know, in my heart and soul._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After you have read this, don't forget to leave a comment. I mainly wrote this fic as introspection into Zewi's ability to not-blush/not-receive-nosebleed when seeing Ein partially nude in the anime, and then decided to expand the story to include the car chasing so that the word requirement would meet the 2k requirement for my first fanfiction contest.


End file.
